james_ukm

Hi there, i was sat at a set of traffic lights a couple of weeks ago in my sti, when the lights changed to green the car in front stuck it in reverse and sent it in to the front of my car (only at the speed a 1.8 mondeo can do in the space of 4 foot). I got out not 2 impressed and checked out my car and all i could see that was up with it was a hairline crack in my number plate (all the call in front had was a slight scratch in the bumper of a car that was battered all over). the woman in front has got out and apologised and asked me if we could sort this out without going through the insurance to which i have agreed but i said i needed to get her details incase there was any damage that i hadnt seen. We exchanged details and i told her i would give her a call in a few days once i had got my car checked over. i checked my car out and everything was ok except for the number plate crack. Iv then rang her up and told her that it was just the number plate which she offered to pay for and i told her not to worry about it as it was just a number plate to which she thanked me. So iv forgotton all about it until this morning when i have recieved a letter from her insurance telling me that i had run in the back of her and that not only was she claiming for the damage to her car but her and her 2 passengers were all intending to claim for damages (im assuming whiplash). i dont know what to do as i was in the car on my own i have no witnesses and she has 2. has anyone got any ideas on how i should proceed?

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

Yes....... deny ever being there in your car , get a witness or two to confirm you were at least 200 miles away from the scene drinking beer with them

bobs_p1

iTrader: (4)

Have you got legal cover on your insurance

james_ukm

Cheers mike but What about the witness statements from the passangers of the car?

Bobs p1 i do have full insurance which i am assuming includes legal cover
do i have to tell my insurnace company about this or can i just call the insurance company that sent me the letter. i didnt want to get my insurance involved as i didnt want to have to declare it for the next 3 years

seddomyster

iTrader: (9)

did she take your reg details. if not there no proof u was there. any cctv about?

Darren.1987

iTrader: (1)

considering it wasnt your fault mate and i just had a similar thing happen to me, only that someone ran across the road and may try to claim from me for a broken leg.

You have to notify your insurance but you do not have to declare it on your future policys if you were not at fault. I just spoke to the Quinn Direct regional manager and asked about this, IE if the girl makes a claim against me will i have to declare it in future policies? Answer was a definate no. Unless it was with another vehicle or deemed to be you at fault.

What my insurers are doing if they try to claim is pay them money and it will not affect my policy now or in future as i wasn't at fault. I think without a doubt it will be the same for you. (Also to add i'm only covered TPFT)

Do not get anyone to lie for you as if there is CCTV etc in the area they may be able to check it. After all you werent at fault so nothing to worry about, plus seeing as it's weeks after the incident the witness's statements cannot be taken into account and will be frowed upon as they have has time to discuss what they are going to say and try and claim off you for..to be fair if the police were not called at the time of the incident i can't see the insurers getting anywhere with it.

scoobyhoobydoo

Speak to your insurance company, inform them clearly it is a case of fraud, explain what really happened. Your reason for not reporting the issue was the lack of any given damage to your vehicle and that the incident was not your fault.

See how it goes, let them fight it out, it does sound like a well run scam but that is what these type of people do. As said in the remote chance of CCTV have a look at where” the accident” occurred and if there are any shops or council run CCTV give it a try.

james_ukm

there was no cctv as it was out in the sticks. what i dont want to happen is for my insurance to settle this because it is the easier thing to do as it will cost me a fortune in future premiums not to mention my excess with is ridiculasly high. if it was my fault i would just let my insurance deal with it and take it on the chin but because its a scam i want to do everthing i can not to let this go any further. Do witness statements mean anything if they are from people trying to claim? or do they need independant witnesses which unless she has magiced some up from somewhere which wouldnt supprise me as no one stopped at the time

N_Scooby

iTrader: (2)

You don't pay excess on claims made against you. Only if you were to make a claim yourself.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

If I were you I'd find 2 witnesses yourself that approached you after she drove off and saw the whole incident. Perhaps one of them mentioned that they'd heard of this type of scam and probably this accident was genuine.. but in the off chance you get a fraudulent claim in a few weeks then give them a call.

I would then also phone up your insurance company, tell them whats happenned, tell them in no uncertain terms you are not accepting any blame for this and tell them this is a police matter. You have her details and phone number.

Scooby Dan

A gang in my area recently got locked up for this, they were only caught when people in nearby offices noticed that the same guy was crashing in the same spot but in different cars about 3 times a week

chrisdicko

iTrader: (21)

Have you phoned her and asked her what she's playing at??

james_ukm

i did and all she said was she wants to let her insurance handle it then hung up. she now wont answer the phone to me unless i withheld my number. i dont really want to talk to her again as i will probably lose my reg and get abusive which from past experiance opens up a load of new problems

Motion-Mx

iTrader: (2)

you mean you haven't hacked her head of,killed her kid's and dis-memberd her husband?

fair play...

james_ukm

not yet, but there is time. if she does get something out of my insurance i have her address.

Motion-Mx

iTrader: (2)

how you can resist going over there is beyond me... ahh I'm angry just thinking about it.

Dubzy

iTrader: (4)

As mentioned call your insurance company and let them know its a scam. Whip lash would take more than a cracked number plate.

type-ellis

iTrader: (24)

My girlfriend had a similar thing happen to her, she was in tesco and a girl reversed out of a space straight into her causeing £1300 worth of damage. The girl offered to pay but when we gave her the quote she said no way and tried to say that my misses drove into her. She had a witness and my misses was on her own but her witness couldnt be taken into account because she was biast. We ended up paying £550 excess but she has now been found at fault so we just waiting for our money back.
I wouldnt lie about witnesses, or if you do then say they were in the car with you, that way if they take her witnesses into account then they will have too with yours aswell.

seddomyster

iTrader: (9)

good point above they will all need medical. if they win let them use there claim in replacing the wrote off car u just damaged lol

SunnySideUp

Post her number here and we can all ring and say how we saw everything ....... and will make statements to the police unless she drops it - she will drop it then, we need to stamp this thing out.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Isn't it one persons word against three though Doubt it's crystal clear that the OP will be OK

TX.

SunnySideUp

The 'witnesses' are not independant.

Dubzy

iTrader: (4)

Agreed

Before any claims for injuries are dealt with they will first need to decide on who was at fault. Any passengers in either car are deemed biased. I wonder if she has since reversed into anything else to cause some more damage. I would also report her to the police as with the lack of any damage to your car speaks for its self and this thing is getting very common and just costing us all big time.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Insurance co's will take cases of fraud seriously and if necessary involve the police, I think a car with a cracked numberplate v one with 3 people with severe whiplash at a set of lights will seem dodgy anyway, plus this is why you should ALWAYS report accidents to your insurance co and take pictures of the damage to save this sort of abuse

Tony

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

Damned good idea

Motion-Mx

iTrader: (2)

count me in....pm me her number

The rookie

iTrader: (1)

Report to the police as well, if everyone they've tried the scam on with did this they would soon tally them up!

Simon

T5NYW

iTrader: (4)

The witnesses in the car don't count, they are not independent you company can check your car for damage

If cynical, you could have ran them up the rear.

In hign sight I will always good to get mobile phone pic.s/video of the scene

As said report to Police and if "Their" insurance contact you just refer reply saying it has been referred to the Police and your insurance as "Insurance fraud Scam"

Tony

bob r

iTrader: (46)

Typical of the ways things are in this country.

Due to it being over 2 weeks ago it's difficult for insurance co's to assess damage as things could have been fixed by now, which doesn't prove your 'cracked no plate only' theory.

Police - I think you have 24hrs to report an accident, so go to them with this and they won't be interested at all.
If it's Fraud you want to report, Police will fob you off saying 'it's down to your insurance co'

Insurance - I suggest that they will ultimately settle 50/50 as it's one word against the other and sometimes easier for them to settle rather than fight and loose.

There are no independent witness unless you can find some. A letter in the local rag or even visiting the scene yourself to see if there are any regular commuters may reveal a witness.

If you do decide to lie and there is cctv then you are in the clear as you did F all wrong.

Good luck.

Rubberscooby

iTrader: (1)

How can she be sueing you whiplash when neither cars are damaged and not showing any signs of a shunt. I would tell your insurance company and tell them what happened and its fraud.